Stuck in the Clouds
by Senka Hitomi
Summary: With the Fourth Shinobi War fast approaching, the whole of Konoha is spending one last day in the village they love before going off to war. Shikamaru just wants to spend his day cloud-watching.


_A/N: Okay... confession time. So when I started writing fanfics, I PROMISED myself I would never write a song fic. And admittedly, this is only partially one. But I digress. So the other day I was driving along and I heard the song 'Rhythm of Love' by the Plain White T's come on. I love the song anyway, but then it just hit me. Talking about head in the clouds and blue eyes like the sea... it was a ShikaIno song. :) So here is the result of that little stroke of genius. Hope you enjoy._

_Oh yeah, and I don't own this and all that jazz. :)_

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_My head is stuck in the clouds, _

_She begs me to come down, _

_Says "Boy, quit foolin' around."_

Shikamaru was just on the brink of sliding into a blissful sleep when a shadow fell across his form. Even before he opened his eyes, he knew it was her; that scent of flowers that followed her constantly was a dead giveaway. Therefore, he was unsurprised to open his eyes to find a pretty (and rather angry-looking) face hovering just above his.

"Shikamaru! What do you think you're doing?"

"What does it look like, Ino? I'm trying to sleep."

"On a day like _this?_" Her eyes narrowed shrewdly and she put a hand on her hip, further blocking his view of the sky. He had picked this hill specifically for the view it gave him of the sky, so he could watch the sunset over Konoha this afternoon, and here she had to go and block it. Tch. Troublesome woman…

"I'm not going to get to do it any other time," he noted wryly.

That seemed to quiet her. Ino's hand fell from her hip and she moved out of his line of vision.

Shikamaru closed his eyes again, taking a deep breath…

…and opened one eye again, glancing over to his right where Ino had taken a seat. Her hands were clasped around her legs and her chin rested on her knees. She stared off into the distance, a look of consternation on her face that he rarely saw.

That argument had been too simple anyway. Something was certainly wrong.

He sat up. "What's wrong, Ino?"

At first she didn't look at him, just staring off into the distance.

She was tragically beautiful, he thought. And then immediately repressed the thought. Ino was his _teammate_, nothing more. Just like he had told himself a thousand times. Those kinds of thoughts were far too troublesome.

Finally, she spoke, so quietly he almost didn't hear it. "Aren't you scared, Shikamaru?"

Then she scoffed, smiling ironically. "No, of course you're not. What do you have to be scared of? You're a genius."

"But this war… I'm just so afraid. Not just for myself, for… for Konoha. And everyone. What will happen if we don't win? If we even survive…"

She paused, swallowing with difficulty. "Back when Asuma-sensei died, I—I thought I would never stop crying. But now, _everyone's _lives are on the line. My father, Tsunade-sama, Sakura, Choji…"

She looked at him, and for the first time, he realized her green-blue eyes were brimming with tears. "…you."

And then she just started sobbing, great wracking sobs that shook her whole body, and suddenly, he was at her side, holding her, and she just cried into his shoulder.

"I c-can't do it again, Shikamaru. I n-never thought I would be in that much p-pain, and I never w-want to again. I can't imagine—losing Choji or my f-father…"

She pulled herself away from him, looking at him as she sobbed, more quietly now. "Or you. I don't know what I would do if something… something h-happened…"

A fresh wave of tears poured over her cheeks.

Shikamaru tried to quell the flips his stomach was doing as those words washed over him.

'I'm her _teammate_.' He thought emphatically. 'We've been friends for years, it's not surprising that she'd be upset about losing me.'

"S-Shikamaru?"

He blinked back to reality; her face was completely open, her fear and pain displayed fully across it.

"Well, just think… if I die, you won't have to nag me about being so lazy all the time."

As the words left his mouth, he realized it might not have been the right thing to say, but he was rewarded by a tiny peal of laughter from her.

Ino sniffled a little, and he saw a tiny glint of light come back into her eyes. "True. And you won't have to worry about me being so troublesome anymore."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Eh. What good would that be? I could watch clouds without anyone bothering me, and not have to comfort emotional loud women. What kind of afterlife is that?"

He waited a few moments before looking over at her, keeping a straight face as a smile slowly crept across her face, and finally stayed. The sobs were slowly receding.

She looked down at her hands, wiping away a few stray tears.

"I guess I've bothered you enough. I suppose you wanted to enjoy your last day before we go into combat." She gave one last swipe at her eyes, pushing up off the ground. "I'll see you—"

She stopped as his hand curled around her wrist.

"Ino."

She let him slowly pull her back down next to him, and he kept his hand on her wrist.

"To answer your first question, yes, I'm scared. I'm petrified. Being a genius just means that I can think of _more_ ways for things to go wrong. And I've essentially been given control of entire division when the Kazekage is taking care of other matters. So of course I'm scared. Not just for my division, either."

He took a deep breath, looking at her squarely. Ino bit her lip, but returned his gaze. "I'm afraid for you and Choji as well. We may not see or hear from one another for quite some time, and I can't be there to protect you, as much as I want to.

"But we're shinobi. As troublesome as it all is, it's worth it if we can save this world."

The corner of his mouth quirked up in a half-smile. "And if it makes you happy, I'll keep myself from getting into too much trouble, alright?"

And then she did something that completely threw him off his guard, more than her interruption of his nap, more than tears and more than her fear.

Ino threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Shikamaru's eyes went wide, and it took a few seconds for him to realize what was even happening before it registered and he responded in kind, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her closer to him.

All he could do was breathe in her scent and relish the feeling of her lips on his, and for one small moment in time, he almost regretted choosing the life of a shinobi, only wishing that he didn't have to worry about the war and could just stay here with her for as long as they could.

But finally she pulled away, resting her forehead on his shoulder, and he sank back to reality.

"Shikamaru…" she whispered.

He cradled her to his chest, his chin resting on the crown of her head. "No matter what happens, we'll have this. It may be the worst possible time to tell you this, but I think I love you, Yamanaka Ino, and no war is going to change that."

She pulled back from him slightly, so that she could see his face. Her eyes shone, and she grinned devilishly. "You, the lazy genius, love me?"

"Tch. Troublesome, I know." He tried to sound nonchalant, but he couldn't suppress the grin that found its way onto his face.

Ino slapped his arm, but the action had no anger behind it, and she laced her arms back around his torso, mumbling into his chest, "You're lucky I love you too, even if I am troublesome."

He leaned back and she curled next to him. The sun was just touching the edge of the horizon, slowly sinking across the sky.

There might be a war just around the corner. The shinobi world may have been ripping at the seams.

But for tonight, they had one another, and that was enough to quell the fear, pushing the demons of the next day back, even if it was only temporarily.

Shikamaru smiled. Troublesome or not, it may just have been worth it.

_We may only have tonight, _

_But 'till the morning sun you're mine, all mine, _

_Play the music low, and sway to the rhythm of love._

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_Well, I hope you all enjoyed that. I certainly had fun writing it. Leave me reviews, s'il vous plait! :) _

_~ Senka Hitomi_


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